BROSSARD, QUE. — Not only had Derek Stepan fractured his jaw, New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault explained that day, he broke it badly enough to need surgery. The young centre was still recovering from the operation in a local hospital, Vigneault added.

The first question from the floor: “Are you calling it day-to-day?”

Vigneault: “Call it whatever you want.”

Three questions later: So, are you saying he cannot play in the next game?

“He’s at the hospital right now recovering from surgery,” Vigneault said, an exasperated tone creeping into his voice, “so I would say unlikely.”

On Tuesday, Vigneault’s longtime friend, Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, faced the same line of questioning about his goaltender, Carey Price, who had long been ruled out of the Eastern Conference final with an injury. Price had skated in full equipment earlier that morning, and Therrien was asked what that meant: “He’s not going to play.”

In the playoffs, truth usually becomes the object NHL coaches use in a version of three-card Monte. It can move quickly and it can often be pulled from the table entirely, with nothing to replace it but more misdirection. Or, in the case of Kings coach Darryl Sutter, a scowl.

Head coach Darryl Sutter of the Los Angeles Kings speaks to the media after their 3 to 1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game One. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

There is another reason why the questions are asked, though; why someone with a broken jaw would be asked whether he planned to return to the ice 72 hours after his injury, why a goaltender with a limp and a brace would be considered for an early return.

It is part of the fabric of the playoffs.

Some of the greatest legends in sport are those who returned from injury too early. They can inspire and, on some levels, they reciprocate to fans who ache and soar with every bounce in the game.

Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf took a slapshot to the left side of his face late in a first-round playoff game. He left the ice, was sewn together with an unknown number of stitches and returned to play in the next game, even though the swelling made it look like he had tucked a golf ball into his cheek.

“Luckily, he’s married, has a couple of kids,” teammate Ben Lovejoy told reporters. “He’s not trying to impress anybody with his face.”

“It’s kind of our culture,” Rangers defenceman Kevin Klein said.

He was talking about hockey, but it applies to any sport. Kirk Gibson’s joyful limp around the bases after a walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series has become a staple of TSN Top 10 lists. Willis Reed appeared in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals despite needing an injection to dull the pain in his leg, where he had torn a thigh muscle.

“There isn’t a day in my life,” Reed told The New York Times years later, “that people don’t remind me of that game.”

That precedent makes it difficult to rule anyone out of the playoffs, even if, like Stepan, they struggle to eat solid food. Stepan was hurt in Game 3, and not until the moment the final roster was released did the Canadiens believe he would remain sidelined.

Montreal winger Brendan Gallagher said be was “100 per cent” certain Stepan would play in Game 4, three days after the injury and about 36 hours after surgery. Teammate Daniel Briere suggested misdirection, saying the injury situation was “fishy,” especially since Stepan logged more than 17 minutes of ice time the night he was injured.

Derek Stepan #21 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal against the Montreal Canadiens during Game Five. (Photo by Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images)

“He got up and he was yapping and yelling,” Gallagher said. “So I’m sure the jaw isn’t hurting too much.”

Price, meanwhile has been hurting since the opening game of the series with New York, and had been seen limping around with a brace. He returned to the ice on Monday — in just a warm-up suit — as part of what Therrien called his usual rehabilitation program.

Injured Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price works out with two members of the team staff hours before the team faces elimination in the Eastern Conference final. Sean Fitzgerald/National Post

The 26-year-old was back on the ice again on Tuesday, hours before the Canadiens played the Rangers in Game 5, facing elimination. He was in full equipment, sliding side-to-side for a half-hour to test his (suspected) knee injury.

Price was off the ice before the rest of his teammates arrived. That did not extinguish the suspicion he was trying to see if he could play. And even though Therrien was as direct as he could have been — “He’s not going to play in that series” — the possibility of an early return seemed to linger.

Part of the stories, for Price and for Stepan, was the lure of the lore.

“There are a lot of things that have to happen for him to play,” Vigneault told reporters a few hours before the opening faceoff. “Nutrition, obviously, is an issue at this time.”

Just because he cannot eat does not mean he cannot play, at least not in the playoffs.